


Crystal Destiny

by The_PrincessCat



Category: Final Fantasy XIII
Genre: F/F, Fix-It, Fluff, Happily Ever After, Romantic Fluff, She Deserved Better
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:29:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24634597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_PrincessCat/pseuds/The_PrincessCat
Summary: Four Hundred and Eighty Seven years after being frozen in chrysalis status Fang and Vanille are given a chance to start their life over again.or:“Hold still.” Fang kneeled before Vanille, grabbing her skirt and finding the mark that lay on her upper thigh. There was no complaint as Vanille pulled her hands in over her heart, and waited for her girlfriend to inspect her as she had done many times before.A sigh of relief and a full smile came to Fang’s lips as she stood so quickly her head spun. Vanille’s brand was now scorched out as well and the progression had completely stopped.“We did it, Vanille!” Fang’s hands went under Vanille’s arms, lifting her into a hug and off her feet. There was a small yip from the smaller girl as Fang held her close. “We did it! We completed our Focus!”
Relationships: Oerba Dia Vanille/Oerba Yun Fang
Comments: 6
Kudos: 10





	Crystal Destiny

**Author's Note:**

> I had the honor to write these two wonderful ladies from XIII and give them the ending they deserved for the She Deserved Better Zine. It was an honor working on the project and I am very proud of my fic. I hope you enjoy it as well.

A deafening crack tore through what had been complete silence.The sudden change felt like a hurricane had spawned into existence around Fang, and her awakening senses were overwhelmed. For a moment the sensation was so unreal that it felt like a dream, as many dreams that had come before. 

Four hundred and eighty-seven years both Fang and Vanille had slept as a l’Cie in crystal stasis. 

Unknown and distant voices surrounded them from every direction, mixing with the roaring wind and the realization that they were falling. A dizzy and disoriented stupor overtook her, and a sudden nausea filled her gut. Suddenly, Fang felt a pull at her heart as she became aware of the tingling of her fingertips. They had fallen asleep together, holding hands. Desperately, Fang gripped her right hand tighter. A sigh of relief escaped her lips as Vanille’s gripped back. 

It wasn’t until there was an intense muscle soreness that Fang realized she was finally awake. Her eyes still refused to see, but she could tell where they were and feel what was going on. They were thawing from the crystal, and they were hurdling to the ground, and fast. Fang pulled Vanille in closer, wrapping her arm around the smaller waist as her dominant hand reached behind her and grabbed at her lance.

“Bahamut!” Fang pulled the petal shaped stone from her l’Cie brand, slicing it in half as they continued their descent through the whirlwind. Even without eyes, Fang could feel the dragon Eidolon moving through the air. They landed on his back, and Fang braced as she shifted into the saddle.

Finally safe, Fang replaced her lance upon her back. Her free hand moved to her eyes and rubbed hundreds of years of sleep from them. Finally, they opened to see Vanille before her. 

Vanille looked exactly like she had when they had turned to crystal. Her peach colored hair in pigtails resting on Fang’s chest, soft hands clutching at the dark blue sari. The bangles on her small wrists jingled excitedly with the motion of Bahamut’s movements. The sight of Vanille finally outside of her dreams made the edges of Fang’s lips curl in a soft smile. 

“Where are we?” Vanille spoke up, finally far enough away from the destruction of the crystal pillar to be heard. Her voice was soft and full of concern as green eyes blinked up at Fang. 

“Well,” Fang shifted, shooting her gaze over her shoulder to watch large chunks of crystal fall from the only thing keeping Cocoon and Gran Pulse from colliding. There seemed to be no reason for why the crystal was choosing now to break away like large pieces of ice from an iceberg. “Think we are gonna have to find another place to sleep.”

Fang laughed as Bahamut swooped downward, towards what appeared to be a small city, or what used to be one. “Perhaps we can figure out what’s going on there?”

The ground was not far off, and soon, they were dismounting and finding their legs once more. They felt wobbly like newborn Adamanchelids after the extended disuse. Fang immediately turned, as her Eidolon returned to stone and disappeared into the scorched out brand on her shoulder. 

“Hold still.” Fang kneeled before Vanille, grabbing her skirt and finding the mark that lay on her upper thigh. There was no complaint as Vanille pulled her hands in over her heart, and waited for her girlfriend to inspect her as she had done many times before. 

A sigh of relief and a full smile came to Fang’s lips as she stood so quickly her head spun. Vanille’s brand was now scorched out as well and the progression had completely stopped.

“We did it, Vanille!” Fang’s hands went under Vanille’s arms, lifting her into a hug and off her feet. There was a small yip from the smaller girl as Fang held her close. “We did it! We completed our Focus!”

At first, Vanille tensed, confusion clear on her face as her eyebrows knit together. “What?” As Fang spun her around, the confusion turned to something else. The idea that they had both finished their Focus after all this time seemed impossible. Yet, if her own brand was scorched out, that meant they had succeeded. Vanille’s lips spread wide in a smile as she was placed back on her feet.

“We did it?” Vanille couldn’t shake the surprise from her voice as she turned to look at the town. “We’re free?”

“We’re free!” The smile was placed solidly on Fang’s face as she led the two of them towards the crumbling city. “Now, what’re we gonna do with ourselves?” 

It was true, so long as they could remember, they had been torn from their lives to obey a fal’Cie master. It had never been their choice, it never was with a l’Cie. “I guess we try and figure out where our friends are? Or—” 

Fang turned on her heel, looking at Vanille in contemplation. “You remember what we promised each other, before all of this happened? All those hundreds of years ago?”

Vanille stopped, her eyes glazing over in contemplation. “Yeah. I do.” 

“Marry me.” There was no hesitation, no change in inflection. Vanille blinked, eyes wide. 

“What?” Her voice was like sugar, so sweet and innocent. Vanille looked into Fang’s eyes, as if she hadn’t understood what was being said. 

“Marry me, or promise you will forever be with me.” Fang took a step closer, grabbing the much smaller, much softer hand. “I love you. It’s over. They might call on us again, or—” 

Fang took a step backwards, gesturing towards the pillar they had just came from off over the horizon. “Or they might be done with us. We could live happily together. Be together, forever.”

Vanille let a smile spread across her lips, as tears welled at the edges of her eyes. “Yes. But where would we go?”

Fang gripped her hand tighter around Vanille’s as if she was afraid that letting go would turn null everything that had happened. “Does it matter? Wherever you go, I will follow. I will protect you and I will keep your ego in line.”

“My ego?” Vanille laughed, following as they wondered further into the abandoned city. It reminded her of the last time they had been in Oerba, a city that had once been so alive, now dead. It was likely that they had all fled when Gran Pulse had started to fall from the sky, and in the past half a century, the buildings and city turned to ruin. 

“I think I’m the one who needs to keep your ego in check!” They both let out a laugh as they turned a corner, but it fell dead as they spotted two people leaning against the side of a building. Fang’s hand shot up to her lance, gripping it, and swinging it before them. Vanille also sprung backwards, her pearl-winged staff out in a defensive stance. 

There was a laugh from the man, as he shifted and took a step towards them. He had light brown shoulder length hair, piercing blue eyes, and an all blue outfit similar to the tribal outfits from their home. His hands were placed up in front of his face, a white flag that he was not going to harm them, at least not yet. However, Fang’s eyes were trained on the sword at his side. 

“Hey,” The man stopped as the girl fell in line behind him. “You must be Fang and Vanille.” 

Fang would have asked how this man knew who they were, but it was the smile on the girls face that caused Fang to hesitate. “Serah?” 

The soft pink side ponytail bobbed at Serah’s affirmation. “Yeah. It’s me.”

That meant they were friends, whomever the boy was, he couldn’t be a threat. “You look like your sister, but you look happy.” 

Serah laughed, shifting slightly with her hands crossing behind her back. “Yeah, she’s always been like that!” 

Fang let a slow breath press from her nostrils, replacing the staff on her back and taking a few cautious steps forward. “Who’s he?”

“Oh, Noel?” Serah nudged the boy affectionately, which merely resulted in him dropping his hands with an eye roll. “He’s my partner. We’ve been working on fixing everything in the time lines, everything that has been messed up for so long, but that’s a story for another time and another place.”

“Why’s that?” Fang was vigilant about where Vanille was, and how she had also reluctantly placed her weapon back on her hip. 

“The Goddess Etro wants to send you home.” Noel spoke, his voice was heavy as if something was weighing on his mind. 

“Who?” Fang quirked her eyebrow, watching the two of them exchange a look. 

“This might take a while. We have a camp set up in the old town square. We’ll explain everything there.” Serah turned on her heel, graceful like a falling snowflake, as they were led through the streets. It was clear that the earth had begun to reclaim the structures, moss and flowers sprouting and giving life in a place that had long been without.

It was a quick walk, and once they were settled around the slow burning fire, the story began. It was Noel who spoke first, Serah filling two cups with an amber liquid and handing them to both Fang and Vanille. The sweet and spicy drink warmed their throats, not having known liquid in such a long time.

Noel explained his story, where he had come from and who Etro was. It was a long story, and by the time the sun had set, Serah began to tell them of everything that had happened since they had been put in crystal stasis, and where Lightning and the others were, now. More specifically, when. 

“And that brings us to you guys.” Serah spoke, Noel stoking the low fire with another log. “Etro wants to thank you by giving you the chance to go home.”

“And by home you mean, Oerba, right?” It had been hours since Fang had spoken, but she was clear about the meaning behind it. 

“Oerba, back in Gran Pulse, before all of this. As if none of this had happened. You will still be l’Cie, but,” Serah smiled that soft smile that made Fang wonder if she was at all related to Lightning at all. “You can start your life back where you left it.” 

Fang looked at Vanille, a sparkle in her eyes that she reserved only for her bubbly better half. “Well?” 

“I don’t know.” Vanille was normally the impulsive one, doing what felt right in the moment. 

“What isn’t there to know?” Fang grabbed Vanille’s hands, pulling her into the moment with her, as if the other two weren’t there. 

“I—I want to sleep on it.” Vanille looked up at the sky, the stars sparkling above them. 

There was no arguing with her, and as it was late, they all decided to turn in. Fang lay on her back, staring up into the sky with Vanille nestled into her side. Their breathing was slowing, and the other two had long since fallen asleep on the other side of the fire. 

“Do you really think we’ll go home?” Vanille’s voice was quiet, laced with sleep, but the words reflected her hesitance. 

“Yeah. I trust Lightning, her sister won’t lead us astray.” Fang tightened her grip around Vanille. There was silence, as Vanille nodded into Fang’s side, and she knew the moment she had fallen back asleep. 

The morning came quickly, and when it did, Fang had made up her mind. “How do we go home?” 

Serah smiled, looking over to where Vanille and Noel were having a conversation about flowers. “It’s easy. Noe?” Serah called out, waving the other two over. 

“They’re ready!” Serah smiled, and Noel nodded, standing and moving over to the other two. 

“Alright.” For a moment there was nothing, and then, a black and silver portal opened up before them. Noel and Serah looked at the other two as it grew, large enough for them to enter. Fang took a step forward.

“Are you sure?” Vanille’s voice was soft, that same tinge of fear cutting at the edges. She was still nervous, hesitant. 

“Have I ever led you astray? Don’t you want to go home?” Fang stopped, turning around for just a moment, reaching for Vanille’s hand. “We have completed our Focus, and now, by going through the Historia Crux, we can finally go home.”

Noel nodded, “But you don’t have much time. Go. The portal will only stay open for so long.”

Fang moved forward, pulling at Vanille’s wrist towards the portal. “Trust me.”

The feeling of entering the portal was almost the exact opposite of being in crystal stasis. If being a crystal was cold, this was warm. However, they still held some of the same disorienting properties. For a moment colors swirled around them, and Fang focused simply on the touch of Vanille in her hand. 

As if everything stopped in just the right place, they were tossed forward, and Fang stumbled on the soft ground. Vanille, on the other hand, tumbled, and landed on hands and knees. “Fang?”

As she opened her mouth, the sound of children’s laughter drifted up the nearby stream and came to her ears. Fang closed her mouth, taking in the beautiful scenery around them. They were standing next to a cliff edge, the place familiar in the back of her mind. 

Vanille sat back on her heels, her eyes immediately falling onto a patch of light pink flowers. “Fang! Look at these flowers!” 

Her soft joyful laughter was more beautiful than any noise Fang had ever known. “We must be close to Oerba then.” 

Vanille picked up one flower and hopped to her feet. “You think they’ll remember us? Do you think we’ll have to destroy our home again?”

“Come on, kid.” Fang moved up behind Vanille, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. “We ain’t gonna have the same fate twice.” 

“We’re home!” 

“Almost, kid. Almost.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading my work. I love all kudos and respond to all comments. I hope you enjoyed the ending that both of these strong women deserved! Fang and Vanille were my favorite part of FFXIII and their relationship warms my heart.


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